Relationship between the urinary Na/K ratio, diet and hypertension among community-dwelling older adults.

Abstract

The association between the urinary sodium (Na)/potassium (K) ratio and hypertension is well recognized. We investigated whether the urinary Na/K ratio might be associated with hypertension in community-dwelling older adults and whether the association was influenced by habitual dietary patterns. We enrolled a total of 684 older adults (mean age, 76.8 years) and conducted health examinations at Kusatsu, Japan, in 2021. The urinary Na/K ratio was found to be independently associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) (p < 0.0001), years of education (p = 0.0027), number of cohabitants (p = 0.0175), estimated glomerular filtrate rate (eGFR) (p = 0.0244), and Geriatric Depression Scale short-version (GDS15) score (p = 0.0366). In addition, an unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis revealed a spectrum of habitual dietary patterns for higher and lower values of the urinary Na/K ratio. The decision tree indicated that the urinary Na/K ratio was associated with the history of milk consumption. A positive history of daily milk consumption predicted a mean urinary Na/K ratio of 2.8, and a negative history of daily milk consumption predicted a mean urinary Na/K ratio of 3.3. Furthermore, the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption also predicted the urinary Na/K ratio. The relationship between the urinary Na/K ratio and hypertension was influenced by the frequency of consumption of milk, fruits, and vegetables in the subjects. This finding might be due to the influence of education and/or depression. The results suggested the importance of nutritional education in the development of hypertension.

• Authors: Noriko Yamanaka, Mitsuyo Itabashi, Yoshinori Fujiwara, Yu Nofuji, Takumi Abe, Akihiko Kitamura, Shoji Shinkai, Toru Takebayashi, Takashi Takei
• Journal: Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension (Hypertens Res) Vol. 46 Issue 3 Pg. 556-564 (03 2023) ISSN: 1348-4214 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 36522425 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Japanese Society of Hypertension.

Chemical References

• Sodium
• Sodium, Dietary
• Potassium

Topics

• Humans
• Aged
• Independent Living
• Sodium
• Hypertension
• Diet
• Sodium, Dietary
• Blood Pressure
• Potassium